MkDocs
6.1#16 in documentation generatorsLinuxmacOSSelf-hostedWindows
VisitMkDocs vs Sphinx
What both publish
| Fact | MkDocs | Sphinx |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Installation | MkDocs is installed with the Python package manager using pip install mkdocs. | Sphinx is a Python application installable through PyPI, Conda, Linux package managers, Homebrew or MacPorts, Chocolatey, Docker, or from source. |
| Integrations | MkDocs documentation can be deployed to GitHub Pages and hosted on Amazon S3. | Built-in extensions include GitHub Pages publishing, Graphviz graphs, and intersphinx links to other projects’ documentation. |
| License | MkDocs is distributed under the BSD license, which permits redistribution and use in source and binary forms subject to its conditions. | The project states that its code is released under the two-clause BSD license. |
| Purpose | MkDocs is a static site generator geared toward building project documentation from Markdown and a single YAML configuration file. | Sphinx generates technical documentation from structured text. |
| Support | The project directs users to GitHub Discussions and GitHub Issues for help. | The project directs users to Stack Overflow, GitHub Discussions, GitHub Issues, or the sphinx-users mailing list for questions and problem reports. |
| Themes | MkDocs includes built-in mkdocs and readthedocs themes and supports third-party or custom themes. | Sphinx includes built-in and third-party HTML themes and supports custom themes. |
MkDocs plans
No prices published.
Sphinx plans
- Sphinx open-source softwareFree
Pick MkDocs if…
MkDocs suits people building project documentation sites from Markdown files, especially those comfortable with Python and command-line tools. It can also suit teams that want static HTML output for a hosting provider of their choice.
Pick Sphinx if…
Sphinx suits technical writers and development teams maintaining structured documentation, especially when they need multiple output formats, cross-project references or API documentation drawn from docstrings.